Stoke deny Spurs link for Shawcross

Wilfried Bony s stoppage-time penalty put Swansea City on the verge of Premier League safety as they beat Newcastle United 2-1 on Saturday.

Bony kept his cool from the spot in the first minute of time added on at St James Park to move the Welsh side six points clear of the drop zone with three games remaining after substitute Marvin Emnes had been brought down by Cheikh Tiote.

The Ivorian had earlier equalised with a powerful header in first-half stoppage time after Shola Ameobi s first top-flight goal since December 2012 put the home side in front.

Swansea coach Garry Monk described a reported training ground bust-up as handbags this week, and was more interested in ensuring his side get out of a serious situation at the wrong end of the table.

And Monk s team s…

A memorial service took place on Monday for former Barcelona head coach Tito Vilanova, who died on Friday.

Vilanova, who served as assistant to Pep Guardiola before taking charge of first-team affairs at Camp Nou, passed away at the age of 45 following a lengthy battle with throat cancer.

After succeeding Guardiola for the 2012-13 season, Vilanova guided Barca to the Liga title with a club-record haul of 100 points.

However, his sole campaign in charge was interrupted by illness and he was forced to step down last July.

The club confirmed on Friday that Vilanova had passed away and mourners including his family gathered at a packed Barcelona Cathedral on Monday to pay their respects.

Cardinal Archbishop of Barcelona Lluis Martinez Sistach led the ceremony, …

Granada defender Inigo Lopez is expecting a fired up Cristiano Ronaldo on Saturday, ahead of their La Liga clash with champions Real Madrid.

Real wrapped up the league title in mid-week with a 4-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao but Ronaldo, who has 44 league goals, is two behind his Argentine nemesis Lionel Messi in the goalscoring charts with only two matches to play.

Granada are in 15th place and need two points to guarantee their top-flight status, but Lopez, however, understands his team have a tough task on their hands to stop the newly-crowned champions at home this weekend.

It will not be easy but we must try. It is true they have already won the league but they still have several records within record, Lopez told Marca.

Also, Cristiano Ronaldo is…

Tottenham right-back Kyle Walker will reunite with some familiar faces at Aston Villa on Boxing Day.

The Spurs star spent time on loan at Villa Park in 2011, where he worked with some of the youngsters who now make up the core of Paul Lambert s Villans team.

A lot has changed since I was there, obviously the manager, and a lot of the players, Walker told the north Londoners official website.

But I did play with a lot of the youngsters there like Andreas Weimann, Ciaran Clark, Marc Albrighton and Matthew Lowton.

They are young, energetic and hungry to win games.

They ve proved they can dig in at Villa Park. I watched the game against Manchester United (on November 10, when Villa let slip a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2) and the result just didn t go th…

Christophe Dugarry is happy for Paris Saint-Germain that Neymar is injured as his absence provides an incredible opportunity for head coach Christophe Galtier.

PSG on Monday revealed Neymar is out for the rest of the season after undergoing ankle surgery.

The Brazil forward did the damage during a 4-3 win over Lille last month and is expected to be sidelined for up to four months.

Neymar has scored 18 goals and provided 17 assists for the Ligue 1 leaders this season, but former France striker Dugarry believes they are better off with Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi as an attacking duo.

He told RMC Sport: I m happy for PSG that Neymar is injured. I think this is an incredible opportunity for Galtier.

The team is much more balanced with five defend…

Christophe Galtier lamented Paris Saint-Germain s defensive errors after their Champions League last-16 elimination to Bayern Munich on Wednesday raised questions over his future.

PSG had no answer to a clinical second-half Bayern performance as Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Serge Gnabry scored at Allianz Arena to secure a 2-0 win and 3-0 aggregate triumph.

That ensured back-to-back last-16 eliminations for PSG, who have played 137 Champions League games without lifting the trophy – only Arsenal (177) have endured a longer such run, excluding qualifiers.

Mauricio Pochettino was dismissed by PSG last season after falling at the same stage in Europe and Galtier, while expressing his commitment, acknowledged his future may be out of his hands.

The PSG coach…

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is yet to make up his mind on where he will play his football next season, according to his agent Mino Raiola.

The Sweden striker is at Euro 2016 and has been heavily linked with a free transfer to Manchester United, with his Paris Saint-Germain contract set to expire after four successful years in France.

Ibrahimovic, 34, scored 50 goals for PSG in 2015-16 and is expected to link up with new Old Trafford boss Jose Mourinho having played under him at Inter.

Raiola described United as a top club but stressed that while he knows where he would like his client to play, Ibrahimovic himself is only focused on Sweden.

Manchester United are a glamorous team and they have a great coach, Raiola said to Telefoot. They are fascinating.

…

Angel Di Maria looks set to miss out on the Copa America Centenario final against Chile after the Argentina star suffered a recurrence of his adductor injury.

Di Maria went off injured in Argentina s 5-0 win over Panama in their second group-stage match, consequently missing their next three fixtures wins against Bolivia, Venezuela and hosts the United States on their way to back-to-back finals.

The Paris Saint-Germain attacker had been on course to face defending champions Chile in a rematch of the 2015 final on Sunday, but suffered an evolution of his initial injury.

Di Maria began training on Thursday before taking part in an informal kick-around with local youngsters, but was unable to complete the session. 

The injury is a big blow for Argentina, …

Valladolid have returned to La Liga after a two-year absence after a 2-1 aggregate win over Alcorcon in the promotion playoff final.

Miroslav Dukic s men recorded a 1-0 win in the first leg, and on Saturday achieved a 1-1 draw in the return fixture to book a place in the Spanish top-flight for next season.

Valladolid finished third after the final round of fixtures in the Segunda, meaning they had to join three other teams in a playoff tournament to determine the third side to be promoted to La Liga.

Dukic s men will now look forward to top football for the first time since they were relegated to the second division in 2010.

Celta Vigo and Deportivo La Coruna were also promoted from the Segunda this season.

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New France captain Thierry Henry is relishing the challenge of facing Austria in Saturday s World Cup qualifier, not least as it will give him the chance to prove he s worthy of the armband.

It will be a difficult game, I saw (Austria) at the Euros. They lost two matches and drew one, like us, the Barcelona player told AFP on Friday.

They are difficult to beat. It s a team that hangs on. They are valiant.

In the absence of injured Patrick Vieira, Henry will wear the all-important captain s armband, a job the World Cup winner is keenly looking forward to.

I will impose myself a little more, I will speak a little more, especially on the field. Before I didn t do that as much, said Henry, who captained the side in the 3-2 friendly win over Sweden last …